Michael Geoffrey JOHNSTON

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Solicitor Michael Geoffrey Johnston faced eight charges arising from trust account irregularities over approximately 12 months, including improper withdrawals, misleading correspondence to the Law Society, and numerous accounting breaches. The Tribunal found the conduct in aggregate constituted professional misconduct but expressly noted there was no suggestion of dishonesty or personal benefit. He was publicly reprimanded, fined $4,000, ordered to complete a trust account course, and to pay costs of $2,000.

Duties found breached:

• Uphold public trust in the profession
• No improper use of client money
• Prompt accounting and return of money

Aggravating factors:

• Extent of irregularity over a not insubstantial period (approx 12 months)
• Poor management of an important financial system and lack of diligence across a wide series of matters

Mitigating factors:

• Indicated early he would not contest the matter substantially
• Cooperated with the Society and the Commission
• No previous adverse disciplinary finding
• Streamlined processes with last audit confirming trust account well maintained
• No dishonesty or personal benefit sought